


Fun and Games

by Bannerific (Nellethiel)



Series: Of Science and Soldiers - 100 One-Shots [10]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Bruce Has Issues, Cameos, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Hydra (Marvel), Injury, M/M, One Shot, Oops, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros, Tony only cracks one joke, is it really a one shot if it's a sequel to another supposed one shot, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2014-09-07
Packaged: 2018-02-16 11:21:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2267838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellethiel/pseuds/Bannerific
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce and Tony's first date ended in utter disaster. Tony is trying to recover. Bruce is brooding. And Fury suspects foul play.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fun and Games

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rosetta (Melime)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melime/gifts).
  * Translation into Português brasileiro available: [Diversão e Jogos](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2341745) by [Rosetta (Melime)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melime/pseuds/Rosetta)



_"Tony? Tony! Oh God, please hold on, Tony. I can't- NO!"_

_It was dark. The world seemed to be spinning abnormally fast. Screams echoed and then faded into oblivion. Flames seemed to reach out and grasp, tear, destroy. Torrents of frigid water engulfed and smothered._

"Doctor Moran, please report to the maternity ward. Doctor Moran, to the maternity ward."

_And then he woke up._

For several moments, Tony was unable to open his eyes. They felt heavy and sticky and sandy. Though the sounds in the room hushed and gentle, everything was far too loud. Too sharp. It felt as though someone had turned up the treble and taken away all the deeper tones. The parts of him covered by sheets were damp and hot. The parts outside the covers were dry and cold.

Tony breathed deeply through his nose once, then cracked his eyes open with a groan he was unable to stop. The room was filled with familiar faces: Steve Rogers and his sketchbook occupied a chair in the corner, the chiseled form of the thunder god was silhouetted in the sunlight streaming through the window, and Clint Barton was stretched out on his back on a couch against the wall, his arm thrown over his eyes. Nick Fury himself was holding up a wall near the doorway, staring at seemingly nothing. But one face was conspicuously absent from the room.

At Tony's groan, all four men immediately responded. Steve and Clint were on their feet at once, and Thor wheeled on his feet. Tony was quickly overwhelmed in a barrage of "are you okay"s and "thank God"s and "by the grace of Valhalla"s (just one of those). The inventor weakly lifted a bandaged arm in protest, wishing immediately that he had not done so. He had only one question.

"Where's Bruce?"

The barrage quickly ceased. No one seemed sure how to answer. The heart rate monitor gave away Tony's anxiety.

"Where is he? What happened?" Tony asked more urgently, trying to sit up. Searing pain shot across his chest. Thor and Steve's gentle but firm hands pressed Tony back onto his pillow as Fury stepped forward.

"He's fine, Stark, relax," Fury said, clasping his hands behind his back. "We very nearly had a situation, but it's been contained. Romanov's with him now."

"But what h-"

"Later, Stark," Fury insisted. "What matters now is that you're okay, so the team here can stop moping around and get back to work." At Tony's raised eyebrow, Fury continued. "From the looks of things, your little 'accident' may have been anything but. We're working on it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should probably find you a nurse and get back to the old grind myself. Barton, let's go."

Clint nodded to Tony once, offered him a fist bump, and followed Fury into the hall. Thor took his place on the couch, and Steve dragged his chair over to the bedside. Tony had a bit of catching up to do.

Together they explained to Tony the events of the last couple of days; they filled him in on his own injuries (a concussion, multiple broken ribs, a fractured kneecap, and for some reason, one broken toe), Bruce's activities (somehow missed by the car, tried to help Tony, Hulked out, took out anyone who tried to touch Tony, carried his lifeless body nearly ten miles back to their home, collapsed, then locked himself in his room until further notice), and their suspicions that the supposed "accident" was actually the result of a calculated attack by agents of Hydra.

"It's all fun and games until a hyper-Nazi terrorist cell puts out a hit on you, right?" Tony had responded with a half-hearted chuckle. But the laughter didn't reach his eyes. Even Thor could tell his heart wasn't in it.

While Tony certainly found it interesting that the organization was now targeting someone besides Steve and his buddies, he knew he wouldn't be able to focus on that or anything else until he saw Bruce. He needed to talk to him, touch him, reassure him, just see him.

But they wouldn't let him out of his damned bed. And though he asked anyone who would listen over the next couple days, including Natasha, no one could convince Bruce to leave his room. No one could even persuade him just to call the hospital. He was ashamed of himself, Natasha explained, and disgusted with the fact that he had stopped people from helping Tony.

Tony Stark, however, was made of tougher stuff than that. Or at least, he liked to think so. So the very hour the doctors finally cleared him to leave the hospital, (after much fussing from Pepper), Tony found himself hobbling up to Bruce's door.

He refused to let Bruce wallow. He refused to be ignored, and he refused to let anyone hate themselves more than Tony hated himself. So he pounded on Bruce's door, leaning heavily on his crutches.

And he waited.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my sweet little sister ittybittyduskitty (tumblr) for the prompt word.
> 
> I don't feel the least bit bad that I cheated. (On the one-shot thing, or the prompt being barely crammed in there.) I regret nothing!
> 
> I think these may be the first two sections that won't stand alone. I dunno.
> 
> Also thank you to all the awesome people who've commented, read, and kudos-ed.


End file.
